There is so much in the world to disturb, that I come more and more to the sanctuary of my home, and the cultivation of inner peace. My yard is alive with summer-life. Two fawns are moving with their mother between our yard and our neighbors. A coyote was sighted in our lower yard this morning. He went silently on his way. Who knows what walks and flies around us, and in us, but today something drew me to David Whyte's book, The Heart Aroused. It is autographed: "Cathy, for your own soul, David Whyte". Well, the David Whyte isn't quite clear, but I watched him sign it, so I know it is his signature and intent.
I open to this quote by Irene Claremont de Castillejo:
Only a few achieve the colossal task of holding together, without being split asunder, the clarity of their vision alongside an ability to take their place in a materialistic world. They are the modern heroes ... Artists at least have a form within which they can hold their own conflicting opposites together. But there are some who have no recognized artistic form to serve this purpose, they are artists of the living. To my mind these last are the supreme heroes in our soulless society."
I'm not sure this is a "soulless society". I see so much that swells my heart. I see and celebrate compassion, connection, joy, and love, and with love, I celebrate the invitation to be an "artist of the living". My heart and soul rest there.
May we each find ease and peace amidst the swells and tides.
Without rise and fall, how would we find the balance of our stance, the knowing that is ours?